Mayor Elorza bikes to work daily

By Matt Blanchettemblanchette@abc6.com@mattblanchette Friday May 15 is national bike to work day. Providence's Mayor is leading the charge to make it a lifestyle in the capitol city, not just today, but every day. As the sun rises over Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza gets ready to pedal his way from Silver Lake to city hall. On Friday, the mayor and members of his staff led a group of people through the streets for national bike to work day. "It was fantastic. He and I rode side by side," Alis...

Providence's Mayor is leading the charge to make it a lifestyle in the capitol city, not just today, but every day.

A

s the sun rises over Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza gets ready to pedal his way from Silver Lake to city hall.

On Friday, the mayor and members of his staff led a group of people through the streets for national bike to work day

.

"I

t was fantastic. He and I rode side by side," Alison Izzi of Cranston said. "He is an avid cyclist. He was a maniac out there. He was flying down the streets. It was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.

"

"Ithink it is a great thing. It seems like it is going to be a necessary means of transportation in the coming years and I think the city seems to be doing a nice job about it so far," Philip Strauss, who also rode with the Mayor, said.

But this wasn't just a photo op. Elorza rides to work nearly every single day from his home in Olneyville

.

"I

t's about three miles. It takes me ten minutes to bike into work," he said. "It is convenient. It's safe. It's easy. It saves you money on gas. It saves you money on parking. There are so many reason why you would want to do it.

"

The mayor carries his bike up the stairs to his office every day and even has a bike rack on the back of the city SUV.

He's making biking and all modes of alternative transportation a priority. A

nd wants to continue to work to ensure quality and safe rides around the city.

"As we are repairing our roads let's do it smart. It does not cost us much more to put in some of the bike infrastructure that we need. So let's invest intelligently to we can encourage more people to feel comfortable and safe riding their bike into work," Elorza said.